Discussions By Condition: I cannot get a diagnosis.

Eye Movement neuro symptoms

I have been to the doctor and had all sorts of scans and no one knows what's wrong.When I move the direction of my sight, and move my eye balls, I get these weird feelings. To me, it is almost neurological in nature. It's almost like a little electrical jolt whenever I move my eyes.IN addition to that lovely symptom, this movement and body response is making me dizzy and nauseous. I can barely eat and feel so yucky that I'm having trouble taking are of my kids.I do have Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia, the latter very badly.The last time this happened for this long (it has gone before for months at a time) I had a brain MR and nothing was deemed wrong with me. So of course, they just left it at that. My mom had MS so I am always cued into symptoms like that.I also have killer fatigue and pain. I am just dragging myself around. What is wrong with me and my eyes?

31 Replies:

This may seem a silly question but...are you sure of the chronology of your symptoms? Could it be that your eye movement is occurring BECAUSE of the feeling of nausea/dizziness rather than causing these?The symptoms you describe point strongly to a possible labyrinthitis...a disorder of the inner ear (Meniere's Disease). This disorder is characterized by nausea, dizziness, balance problems, and often, involuntary eye movements.Regards,John

I'm not a doctor, and I may be totally off base, but have you been taking any antidepressants that you recently stopped taking or are trying to wean off of? I was taking Effexor XR over a year ago and found out some not so great stuff about it. I got off of it, but during that time, I had some nausea and dizziness, sort of a vague and disturbing sort of vertigo. I got online and found others were having those and even more severe withdrawal symptoms. I believe this drug is very, very bad. Some folks still have their negative symptoms even after being totally weaned off the drug for a year or longer. I, thankfully, am fine. Anyway, one of the major withdrawal symptoms was an electrical jolt sort of feeling. It was described as in the brain or head, but maybe that is what you are having. If I'm totally off, please forgive me. I just thought if there was a connection and you didn't know about it, that this might help. I don't know that the docs have a way to help you if that is what caused it, because the doctors seemed then to be clueless about these ill effects. They tended to claim it was not happening and that it was your imagination. Hope this is not what it is or if it is, that you can find someone who will be able to help you.

The sensation you are referring to is a latent sensory response between the eyes and the vestibular network. This phenomenon often occurs while under certain medications, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Paxil. In the absence of medications, the same sensation has been described in persons suffering from sleep deprivation. The actual sensation is fairly difficult to describe initially because of its transience, lasting but a brief instant and feels to some like a pulsing sensation, a zap or electrical shock or jolt in the brain. To demonstrate that it is actually sensory in nature, you can temporarily extinguish the sensation by forcefully looking both extreme left and right until the sensation is no longer triggered. Waiting momentarily and then looking to extreme gaze once again will reconstitute the sensation. It is not a clinical sign of neurological disease, but rather merely a latent sensory response that becomes amplified. The oculovestibular network is responsible for sending signals to the brain regarding balance and orientation in physical space, so any disturbance can induce sensations of nausea similar to that experienced in motion sickness. Realize that when you look on extreme gaze in either direction, the signal and coordinated response with the vestibular network is increased as it would be when the body is in motion. Best regards, J Cottle, MD

I'm not a doctor, and I may be totally off base, but have you been taking any antidepressants that you recently stopped taking or are trying to wean off of? I was taking Effexor XR over a year ago and found out some not so great stuff about it. I got off of it, but during that time, I had some nausea and dizziness, sort of a vague and disturbing sort of vertigo. I got online and found others were having those and even more severe withdrawal symptoms. I believe this drug is very, very bad. Some folks still have their negative symptoms even after being totally weaned off the drug for a year or longer. I, thankfully, am fine. Anyway, one of the major withdrawal symptoms was an electrical jolt sort of feeling. It was described as in the brain or head, but maybe that is what you are having. If I'm totally off, please forgive me. I just thought if there was a connection and you didn't know about it, that this might help. I don't know that the docs have a way to help you if that is what caused it, because the doctors seemed then to be clueless about these ill effects. They tended to claim it was not happening and that it was your imagination. Hope this is not what it is or if it is, that you can find someone who will be able to help you.I feel the need to weigh in on this particular sidepath. For me, Dr. Cottle has it nailed. I can certainly relate to these symptoms and have been researching the phenom myself. As for me, I am currently getting Cymbalta out of my system and have getting Zoloft out of my daughter's system to look forward to after she graduates in May. We were in a car accident a year ago and were rx'd for anxiety, etc... I decided to wean off with an every other day of my 30mg (very low dose) cap then after a week just said the heck with that and went cold turkey. After about 2 days of feeling absolutely awful (nausea, zaps, zaps, did i mention zaps?, vertigo, malaise, extreme fatigue and more...i spent the 2 days in bed)anyway, i personally have found that eye movements are a definite trigger for me. Try moving your eyes to different positions as far as they will go. Here is an example- hold your head straight then look up and out at an angle as far as you can go then change direction and again, as far as you can look comfortably. These movements always give me a zap accompanied with the white static type noise. Things I have found to affect the sensation:Reading a book is fine but using the computer can aggravate it (more & frequent eye movements needed to use the computer plus refreshing screens are the reasons, I think)Watching tv is fine if not too close to the screen (same as computer use & all my tv's are lcd which might be a correlating reason)Keeping hydrated seems to helpAvoiding caffeine and alcohol helps (see hydration)Having low blood sugar from not eating worsens itI get them laying down or sitting but less when moving about (maybe I'm distracted)Moving my head and eyes simultaneously causes them & they are better if I keep my eyes still and just move my head but, then, that is weird to do and look atKeeping myself uncongested helps with antihistimines, if i have to, or by simply avoiding known allergins (fluid in the ear can add to the problem)I have looked up everything from ms to meniere's (i started on wiki with a vertigo search then followed some of the links- it's a good starting point). I have had an MRI of both my head and also one of my neck down as a result of the accident. I, too have nothing visibly wrong and am pronounced in perfect health (yea!) anyway, i think that i will make an appt with an ENT specialist and ask about the symptoms. I don't think that they eye doc will help me.From what I have read, if it is an inner ear issue (and those are connected to your eyes btw) then that sounds like a good place to start. Also, these symptoms are CLASSIC for ssri or ssnri withdrawal but also occur during their use as side effects. NO doctor tells you this when they casually prescribe these wonder drugs. Now, to be fair, cymbalta and zoloft have worked great for us but the personal cost has to be very seriously considered before you fill that rx or take those samples for the first time. I feel that I trusted the dr.too easily, Btw i fired her. Too many docs now days throw you those rx's far too much 'cause the drug co.s run the physicians but that is for another discussion forum. Of me personally, my only other physical issue is diabetes, type 2, which runs very strongly in my family. I share that for comparison purposes. I am off of everything I was prescribed except the metformin and nothing gave me the zaps until i stopped the cymbalta. Certainly MS can cause this problem and if anyone is concerned about it, by all means, go get evaluated especially if you have had a family member diagnosed with it. I apologize for the length of this post and hope that it might be of assistance to somebody.

I feel the need to weigh in on this particular sidepath. For me, Dr. Cottle has it nailed. I can certainly relate to these symptoms and have been researching the phenom myself. As for me, I am currently getting Cymbalta out of my system and have getting Zoloft out of my daughter's system to look forward to after she graduates in May. We were in a car accident a year ago and were rx'd for anxiety, etc... I decided to wean off with an every other day of my 30mg (very low dose) cap then after a week just said the heck with that and went cold turkey. After about 2 days of feeling absolutely awful (nausea, zaps, zaps, did i mention zaps?, vertigo, malaise, extreme fatigue and more...i spent the 2 days in bed)anyway, i personally have found that eye movements are a definite trigger for me. Try moving your eyes to different positions as far as they will go. Here is an example- hold your head straight then look up and out at an angle as far as you can go then change direction and again, as far as you can look comfortably. These movements always give me a zap accompanied with the white static type noise. Things I have found to affect the sensation: Reading a book is fine but using the computer can aggravate it (more & frequent eye movements needed to use the computer plus refreshing screens are the reasons, I think)Watching tv is fine if not too close to the screen (same as computer use & all my tv's are lcd which might be a correlating reason)Keeping hydrated seems to helpAvoiding caffeine and alcohol helps (see hydration)Having low blood sugar from not eating worsens itI get them laying down or sitting but less when moving about (maybe I'm distracted)Moving my head and eyes simultaneously causes them & they are better if I keep my eyes still and just move my head but, then, that is weird to do and look atKeeping myself uncongested helps with antihistimines, if i have to, or by simply avoiding known allergins (fluid in the ear can add to the problem) I have looked up everything from ms to meniere's (i started on wiki with a vertigo search then followed some of the links- it's a good starting point). I have had an MRI of both my head and also one of my neck down as a result of the accident. I, too have nothing visibly wrong and am pronounced in perfect health (yea!) anyway, i think that i will make an appt with an ENT specialist and ask about the symptoms. I don't think that they eye doc will help me.From what I have read, if it is an inner ear issue (and those are connected to your eyes btw) then that sounds like a good place to start. Also, these symptoms are CLASSIC for ssri or ssnri withdrawal but also occur during their use as side effects. NO doctor tells you this when they casually prescribe these wonder drugs. Now, to be fair, cymbalta and zoloft have worked great for us but the personal cost has to be very seriously considered before you fill that rx or take those samples for the first time. I feel that I trusted the dr.too easily, Btw i fired her. Too many docs now days throw you those rx's far too much 'cause the drug co.s run the physicians but that is for another discussion forum. Of me personally, my only other physical issue is diabetes, type 2, which runs very strongly in my family. I share that for comparison purposes. I am off of everything I was prescribed except the metformin and nothing gave me the zaps until i stopped the cymbalta. Certainly MS can cause this problem and if anyone is concerned about it, by all means, go get evaluated especially if you have had a family member diagnosed with it. I apologize for the length of this post and hope that it might be of assistance to somebody. I cannot believe how accurate this description and information is! It is exactly what is happening to me and what led me to this site. I began having the strange "zapping" sensations, severe nausea, and dizziness/vertigo or whatever only when I moved my eyes back and forth, up and down or in any direction. It began 4 days ago and I could NOT figure it out. I was in a car wreck 2 1/2 years ago and after a year began taking Lexapro due to the chronic pain and stress. I had to quit my job due to my injuries then didn't have insurance so I asked my doctor for a cheaper anti-depressant and he gave me a month's supply of Cymbalta. The Cymbalta ran out last week so I had been off of it exactly 6 days when the nausea started and 7 days when the weird dizziness/vertigo started. The symptoms progressed and I have been sleeping 7-8 hours at a time compared to only being able to sleep 4 hours at a time for the last 2 years - sooo tired. When I get thirsty (live in Texas - very hot) or hungry, the nausea is terrible. Yet, it is so hard to eat when you feel nauseated so you eat a little, feel better then get hungry and it starts all over again. I definitely noticed all these symptoms you and others described and I was making the exact same list to take to my doctor next week in an effort to solve this problem. Thought I must have cancer or something serious! LOL Wish someone who has been through this could share how long it took to go away. But since no one has yet indicated how long these symptoms last, I will return and post how long the symptoms lasted for me - if or when they finally stop. I will also consult my physician for help while recovering from the "Cymbalta withdrawl" and to inform him of the side-effects of stopping Cymbalta for other patients who may complain of the same maladies (in case he is not aware of these side-effects). I will also research the Cymbalta web site and report these symptoms to the makers of Cymbalta if they do not indicate these possible side-effects. Thank you for sharing this information! It has helped me so much! Amy

Thank you thank you thank you. I was on lexapro and this is exactly what I've been experiencing for the last three weeks!!! I had no idea what it was from and now after a week of searching you explained it for me. The sensation you are referring to is a latent sensory response between the eyes and the vestibular network. This phenomenon often occurs while under certain medications, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Paxil. In the absence of medications, the same sensation has been described in persons suffering from sleep deprivation. The actual sensation is fairly difficult to describe initially because of its transience, lasting but a brief instant and feels to some like a pulsing sensation, a zap or electrical shock or jolt in the brain. To demonstrate that it is actually sensory in nature, you can temporarily extinguish the sensation by forcefully looking both extreme left and right until the sensation is no longer triggered. Waiting momentarily and then looking to extreme gaze once again will reconstitute the sensation. It is not a clinical sign of neurological disease, but rather merely a latent sensory response that becomes amplified. The oculovestibular network is responsible for sending signals to the brain regarding balance and orientation in physical space, so any disturbance can induce sensations of nausea similar to that experienced in motion sickness. Realize that when you look on extreme gaze in either direction, the signal and coordinated response with the vestibular network is increased as it would be when the body is in motion. Best regards, J Cottle, MD

The sensation you are referring to is a latent sensory response between the eyes and the vestibular network. This phenomenon often occurs while under certain medications, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Paxil. In the absence of medications, the same sensation has been described in persons suffering from sleep deprivation. The actual sensation is fairly difficult to describe initially because of its transience, lasting but a brief instant and feels to some like a pulsing sensation, a zap or electrical shock or jolt in the brain. To demonstrate that it is actually sensory in nature, you can temporarily extinguish the sensation by forcefully looking both extreme left and right until the sensation is no longer triggered. Waiting momentarily and then looking to extreme gaze once again will reconstitute the sensation. It is not a clinical sign of neurological disease, but rather merely a latent sensory response that becomes amplified. The oculovestibular network is responsible for sending signals to the brain regarding balance and orientation in physical space, so any disturbance can induce sensations of nausea similar to that experienced in motion sickness. Realize that when you look on extreme gaze in either direction, the signal and coordinated response with the vestibular network is increased as it would be when the body is in motion. Best regards, J Cottle, MD Thank you, so much, Dr. Cottle and all the others here who posted their symptoms and information! You're right it is a very difficult symptom to describe and I was trying hard to pin it down in words to tell my doctor and not sound crazy. When I did my very first search about the eye movements through Google, this thread popped up and it led me to study the symptoms further and to understand what was happening. At first, I was ready to jump on the bandwagon and complain about Cymbalta but I learned it can happen with any anti-depressant or drug that involves selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Cymbalta isn't the great "evil" some claim it to be, it's just what happens when you stop taking these types of medications without consulting your physician. You have to decrease the dosage slowly as we're dealing with chemicals in the BRAIN and of course it's going to effect you if you stop taking something like that cold turkey. It took me about 2 weeks to get over the worst of the symptoms. I made it easier on myself by getting plenty of sleep, drinking lots of water, taking anti-nausea medications, eating only light, low fat meals, avoiding sudden movements and limiting drives and riding in the car. I treated it like a combination of morning sickness, motion sickness and altitude sickness which I've experienced all three. Instead of the nightmares others have described, I had the most wonderful, colorful and happy dreams. Go figure! Of course, I'm not deeply depressed like some people. I am taking anti-depressants mainly because chronic pain can interfere with seritonin uptake and I have crying spells now and then for no apparant reason (and I'm a counselor, ain't that a kicker!). After about 3 weeks, most of the odd symptoms were gone. However, I'd only been taking Cymbalta for about 6 weeks so it may take longer to recover for those who have been taking the medication for a longer period of time. Since it was too late to slowly decrease the Cymbalta, I lived through it and told my doctor the next time I saw him. Had I READ the literature included with the samples my doctor gave me, I would have known not to stop taking the medication without consulting my doctor. I had been on a low dose of Lexapro before the Cymbalta and when I no longer had insurance, I ran out, couldn't afford to buy them anymore so I quit taking them but never had any withdraw symptoms so that's why I didn't think it would hurt to stop taking the Cymbalta. Learned my lesson the hard way. Part of the problem was that my doctor just handed me the samples of Cymbalta and never told me not to stop taking them without consulting him first. Another part of the problem is, even if you read the literature included with the samples, it only advises you not to stop taking them without consulting your physician but doesn't really warn about the consequences of what may happen if you stop cold turkey. Lilly, the makers of Cymbalta, need to make that warning clearer and include the symptoms of medication withdraw so people like myself and others don't think they have a brain tumor or are going crazy. I am back on the Cymbalta as I still have chronic pain and crying spells. The only side-effects I had were sleeping a lot the first week of taking the 30mg/day but hey, it's a lot better than only sleeping 3-4 hours a night due to the pain waking me up. I return to my doctor next week to review my progress. I do not plan to take anti-depressants for the rest of my life as I am adapting to my situation and seeking further medical consult to solve the source of the chronic pain - facet syndrome due to a neck injury. Be kind and gentle with yourself. Amy

Hi everyone,I have been suffering from the exact symptoms as described in this board for about past 40 days. This is really affecting my life. The symptoms started after I quit smoking cold turkey. I did not smoke too much - about half a pack a day for last 20 some years. Can nicotine withdrawal cause these symptoms? I did go to see my doctor and she could not really say much besides my blood parameters are normal and my chest clean (x-ray). I don't have any craving as I am constantly feeling nausea - which is very helpful actually. Thank you in advance for your replies.

Thank you so much everyone! This has helped me SO much! I was starting to think I was going crazy! I've been dealing with this problem for what feels like a long time now and finally stumbled across this message board. I've been taking Zoloft for years and recently (the past couple weeks or so) had to stop taking it due to lack of medical insurance (I'm a poor college student) and started noticing this problem. I've tried to explain this to my doctor but I'm pretty sure she just thinks I'm nuts. I'm so happy to finally have an answer--even if it doesn't really solve the problem, it puts my mind at ease!Also, to those who recently quit smoking, I'm not sure how right this is, I'm not a doctor and its been a while since my introductory psychology class which talked about this, but I think the nicotine from cigarettes affects serotonin levels in the brain, which I believe would relate to SSRIs and these withdrawal symptoms being talked about. I hope this helps!

The sensation you are referring to is a latent sensory response between the eyes and the vestibular network. This phenomenon often occurs while under certain medications, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Paxil. In the absence of medications, the same sensation has been described in persons suffering from sleep deprivation. The actual sensation is fairly difficult to describe initially because of its transience, lasting but a brief instant and feels to some like a pulsing sensation, a zap or electrical shock or jolt in the brain. To demonstrate that it is actually sensory in nature, you can temporarily extinguish the sensation by forcefully looking both extreme left and right until the sensation is no longer triggered. Waiting momentarily and then looking to extreme gaze once again will reconstitute the sensation. It is not a clinical sign of neurological disease, but rather merely a latent sensory response that becomes amplified. The oculovestibular network is responsible for sending signals to the brain regarding balance and orientation in physical space, so any disturbance can induce sensations of nausea similar to that experienced in motion sickness. Realize that when you look on extreme gaze in either direction, the signal and coordinated response with the vestibular network is increased as it would be when the body is in motion. Best regards, J Cottle, MDThank you, thank you, thank you! I started getting symptoms ("brain zaps" and uncontrollable crying spells being the worst) after discontinuing Prozac a year and a half ago. I quit Prozac cold-turkey, ignorant of the repercussions, and a few weeks later I started on Paxil per my doctors advice. Paxil cured all of my SSRI discontinuation symptoms EXCEPT the brain zaps. I've continued having them all the while on Paxil. Dr. Cottle's diagnosis was the first I've found and believe me, I have SCOURED the internet trying to find the cause of the brain zaps. I knew they were a direct result of quitting Prozac, but had never heard that you could expect to have them WHILE ON an SSRI as well. This is such helpful information! I'd began to wonder if this "discontinuation side effect" would ever go away. Now I know it's an SSRI side effect as well- thank you Dr. Cottle! Could you please let me know if it's normal for paresthesia (a jolt of numbness/tingling in my face/hands/arms) to accompany the brain zaps? The paresthesia just started a few months ago, and it happens at the exact same time as the brain zap, but more when I am standing or in motion than when I am sitting. Any information would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm not a doctor, and I may be totally off base, but have you been taking any antidepressants that you recently stopped taking or are trying to wean off of? I was taking over a year ago and found out some not so great stuff about it. I got off of it, but during that time, I had some nausea and dizziness, sort of a vague and disturbing sort of vertigo. I got online and found others were having those and even more severe withdrawal symptoms. I believe this drug is very, very bad. Some folks still have their negative symptoms even after being totally weaned off the drug for a year or longer. I, thankfully, am fine. Anyway, one of the major withdrawal symptoms was an electrical jolt sort of feeling. It was described as in the brain or head, but maybe that is what you are having. If I'm totally off, please forgive me. I just thought if there was a connection and you didn't know about it, that this might help. I don't know that the docs have a way to help you if that is what caused it, because the doctors seemed then to be clueless about these ill effects. They tended to claim it was not happening and that it was your imagination. Hope this is not what it is or if it is, that you can find someone who will be able to help you.WOW! I thought I was reading what I told my doctor today. He took my blood pressure. It was normal. He said if it persist to see a neurologist. I take Effexor XR in small doses for my Fibromyalgia pain and it's been fantastic. Because of my study routine and change of classes I have forgotten to take it regularly. I had my suspisions it could be the medication withdrawals. Is it hard to wean of the drug? Is there hope for me?

I'm not a doctor, and I may be totally off base, but have you been taking any antidepressants that you recently stopped taking or are trying to wean off of? I was taking Effexor XR over a year ago and found out some not so great stuff about it. I got off of it, but during that time, I had some nausea and dizziness, sort of a vague and disturbing sort of vertigo. I got online and found others were having those and even more severe withdrawal symptoms. I believe this drug is very, very bad. Some folks still have their negative symptoms even after being totally weaned off the drug for a year or longer. I, thankfully, am fine. Anyway, one of the major withdrawal symptoms was an electrical jolt sort of feeling. It was described as in the brain or head, but maybe that is what you are having. If I'm totally off, please forgive me. I just thought if there was a connection and you didn't know about it, that this might help. I don't know that the docs have a way to help you if that is what caused it, because the doctors seemed then to be clueless about these ill effects. They tended to claim it was not happening and that it was your imagination. Hope this is not what it is or if it is, that you can find someone who will be able to help you.WOW! I thought I was reading what I told my doctor today. He took my blood pressure. It was normal. He said if it persist to see a neurologist. I take Effexor XR in small doses for my Fibromyalgia pain and it's been fantastic. Because of my study routine and change of classes I have forgotten to take it regularly. I had my suspisions it could be the medication withdrawals. Is it hard to wean of the drug? Is there hope for me?

The sensation you are referring to is a latent sensory response between the eyes and the vestibular network. This phenomenon often occurs while under certain medications, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Paxil. In the absence of medications, the same sensation has been described in persons suffering from sleep deprivation. The actual sensation is fairly difficult to describe initially because of its transience, lasting but a brief instant and feels to some like a pulsing sensation, a zap or electrical shock or jolt in the brain. To demonstrate that it is actually sensory in nature, you can temporarily extinguish the sensation by forcefully looking both extreme left and right until the sensation is no longer triggered. Waiting momentarily and then looking to extreme gaze once again will reconstitute the sensation. It is not a clinical sign of neurological disease, but rather merely a latent sensory response that becomes amplified. The oculovestibular network is responsible for sending signals to the brain regarding balance and orientation in physical space, so any disturbance can induce sensations of nausea similar to that experienced in motion sickness. Realize that when you look on extreme gaze in either direction, the signal and coordinated response with the vestibular network is increased as it would be when the body is in motion. Best regards, J Cottle, MDI too, am having these electric 'zaps' with eye movement. I have seen a neurologist, who basically told me I was crazy and anxious. My neuro exam (albeit brief) was normal. I am not on Cymbalta or Paxil, however, I was on them previously. Cymbalta I took for only about 2 months (if that long) and had to get off of it due to elevated blood pressure and haven't been taking it for at least a month and a half. I only took Paxil for about 2 weeks, and haven't been taking it for 2 and a half weeks. My primary doc said that was long enough for the Paxil to be out of my system. Does the length of time on these meds affect how long these extrapyramidal symptoms last? I spent 3 hours at the neurologist yesterday, and am tempted not to go for an MRI if this is simply par for the course with these medications.

So pleased to have found this thread - have been searching for days trying to find out why any movement of my eyeballs causes my tinnitus to `scream` and make me feel dizzy and sick - yes, as someone said, it is just like an electric shock through the head - mind you, my tinnitus sounds very `electrical` anyway - just like the noise a light bulb makes. But with the movement of the eyeballs, it seems to affect my stomach as well as if I`m just about to throw up. Its a bit similar to a migraine aura in that everypart of my head is hypersensitive. Also get tingling in hands, feet, lips and sometimes my nose.What`s interesting is that I have gradually been coming off SSRIs for the last 3/4 months - and last week I finally got down to about 1mg a day and have now stopped completely. I was on them for 5 years. It was the consultant at the Respiratory Dept that advised me to come off them because I am being investigated for chronic fatigue and aching muscles, so much so that I had to retire from work. She thought that the build up of SSRIs over 5 years could be causing these malfunctions - I cannot wake up - it takes me about 2 hours to just get properly conscious and I need about 13 hours sleep a day. I have about 2 or 3 hours in the afternoon when I am anything near reasonable enough to get out for a walk. I also gave up smoking 4 years ago and have become addicted to nicotine lozenges - in fact I need 2 or 3 lozenges to help me wake up properly each day, then more lozenges to keep me from going to sleep again. At the moment I am being investigated for sleep apnoea as I have snored badly all my life and do stop breathing for about half a minute at a time. After reading all the posts here, it has given me some hope that this eyeball thing will eventually go away once the SSRIs are completely out of my system - thanks to all of you.Louise

Doctor,I realize that I am not an expert by any stretch on such a subject but I wonder, the electric sensations caused by eye movement neither happens when my eyes are closed nor when I am sitting, only when I stand. Bending my neck in certain positions disallows me from experiencing the sensation no matter how much I make an extreme gaze, while in others, I seem to be increasingly sensitive. Do these observations have any significance?

I too have been having a zapping noise from inside my head when I move my eyes! So perplexed by this and it was scary, I thought I had a tumor or something. From reading thru all these posts..I found a common thread...PAXIL. I take it only during my SAD (seasonal affective disordor) attacks, wich run anywhere from December to march, I weaned off paxil three weeks ago and am having these sounds constantly...I have been treated for ear problems, infections I more than likely didn't even have!!! I am going to try St. Johns Wort, wich they say works like Paxil?? Thanks for the posts, really cleared it up for me..and I see my dr. today and I guarantee..I will kow more than she does just because I came here first..lol Granny of 6